Cryptotrifecta Moonshot

“TO THE MOON” is the famous rallying battlecry of Bitcoin blockchain diehards. It is the phrase heard around the world whenever the price of Bitcoin skyrockets relative to fiat currencies. In the last few weeks the price of Bitcoin hit gold parity. And just recently, even with the SEC rejection of the much-anticipated Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF, the value of Bitcoin has quickly recovered to above $1,200 level. There was no “crash.” If anything, it is the Bitcoin community that rejected SEC and not the other way around. Looks like Bitcoin is on its way to the moon after a quick detour.

But all is not well with Bitcoin. There is trouble in the blockchain paradise. The biggest threat to Bitcoin had nothing to do with the SEC rejection. It’s a problem of scaling, and more crucially, a problem of governance. Whatever the outcome of that stalemate, only time will tell. In the meantime, I’d like to offer a more scientifically nuanced analogy to that famous blockchain battlecry.

In the real world of rocket science, going to the moon requires a multi-stage propulsion to achieve orbital velocity. A proven design is a three-stage rocket system. However, modern cost-effective designs (i.e. SpaceX Falcon 9) use a two-stage-to-orbit system. In my view, when it comes to cryptocurrency mass adoption, going “to the moon” is not achieved only with Bitcoin. Bitcoin is the foundation. It’s the tide that lifts all cryptocurrencies. But it is by no means the best blockchain platform. There’s an internet of blockchains on the horizon. There can be as many moonshots as there are solutions to problems that can be solved with a blockchain.

[…] within the ecosystem. To Etherians they are respectively known as “the flippening,” and “the moonshot.” Each represents a different type of seismic shift in how the world recognizes the underlying […]

[…] within the ecosystem. To Etherians they are respectively known as “the flippening,” and “the moonshot.” Each represents a different type of seismic shift in how the world recognizes the underlying […]